953 
238 


IRLF 


THE  MASQUE  OF  THE  GODS. 


THE 


MASQUE   OF  THE    GODS, 


BY 


BAYARD  TAYLOR. 


BOSTON: 
JAMES   R.   OSGOOD   AND    COMPANY, 

LATE  TICKNOR  &  FIELDS,  AND  FIELDS,  OSOOOD,  &  Co. 
1872. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1872, 

BY    BAYARD    TAYLOR, 
in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


UNIVERSITY  PRESS:  WELCH,  BIGELOW,  &  Co., 

CAMBRIDGE. 


DRAMATIS    PERSONS. 


A  VOICE  FROM  SPACE. 

CHORUS  OF  SPIRITS. 

ELOHIM. 

IMMANUEL. 

JOVE. 

APOLLO. 

BRAHMA. 

ORMUZD. 

AHRIMAN. 

ODIN. 

BAAL. 


PERUN. 
MANITO. 
MAN. 
THE  SEA. 
THE  MOUNTAINS. 
THE  RIVERS. 
THE  TREES. 
THE  SERPENTS. 
THE  WOLVES. 
THE  CAVERNS. 
THE  ROCKS. 


THE  MASQUE  OF  THE  GODS. 
SCENE  I. 

The  high  table-land  of  Pamere.  Midnight.  The  distant  snow- 
peaks  of  the  Himalayas,  the  Hindoo-Koosh,  and  the  Kiien-Liln 
shining  in  the  moonlight.  At  first,  silence ;  then,  slowly  and 
indistinctly, 

THE   ROCKS. 

WE  scarcely  change,  though  wind  and   rain  and 
thunder 

Blow,  beat,  and  fall,  for  many  a  thousand  years  ; 
And  yet  we  miss  the  dread,  the  ignorant  wonder, 

The  dark,  stern  being,  born  of  human  fears. 
The  stains  of  blood,  upon  our  bases  sprinkled, 

Are  washed  away  ;  the  fires  no  longer  flame  : 
The  stars  behold  our  foreheads  still  unwrinkled ; 

We  were,  and  are,  but  Man  is  not  the  same. 
7 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 
THE    CAVERNS. 

With  murmurs,  vibrations, 
With  rustlings  and  whispers, 
And  voices  of  darkness, 

We  breathe  as  of  old. 
Through  the  roots  of  the  mountains, 
Under  beds  of  the  rivers, 
We  wander  and  deepen 

In  silence  and  cold. 

But  the  language  of  terror, 
Foreboding,  or  promise, 
The  mystical  secrets 

That  made  us  sublime, 
Have  died  in  our  keeping  : 
Our  speech  is  confusion  : 
We  mark  but  the  empty 

Rotations  of  Time. 
8 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 
THE    SERPENTS. 

We  glided  once  with  crowned  and  lifted  head, 
Our  supple  grace  a  wonder  to  the  wise, 

Power  in  our  starry  eyes, 
And  sacred  mystery  o'er  our  being  shed, 
But  grace  and  power  and  mystery  are  fled. 

Our  smooth,  cold  undulations  gave  the  sign 
Of  fate  to  nations  ;  fanes  for  us  were  built, 

And  blood  of  victims  spilt, 
To  win  a  favoring  answer  at  our  shrine  : 
Silent  were  we,  and  thence,  of  right,  divine  ! 

Are  we  aught  else  ?     Yet  now  we  crawl  instead, 
Crownless,  and  shorn  of  power  we  did  not  crave, 

But  they  unbidden  gave  : 

Held  once  as  gods,  we  shrink  to  shapes  of  dread, 
And  writhe  abased,  with  bruised  and  trampled  head  ! 

9 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 
THE    WOLVES. 

Prowling  on  the  highlands 

In  the  ghastly  dawn, 
We  scent  the  steam  of  slaughter, 

Ere  the  sword  is  drawn  : 
Sated  with  the  corpses, 

'Neath  the  moon,  at  last, 
We  sleep,  and  let  the  vulture 

Finish  his  repast. 

Where  delay  the  wizards, 

Who  were  wont  to  claim 
Fur  and  fang  and  fleetness, 

And  the  fearful  name  ? 
Heart  of  man  within  us, 

Hate  of  man  to  speed, 
More  than  ours  the  terror, 

Terribler  the  deed  ! 

10 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE    GODS. 
ODIN. 

Be  silent !     Ye  are  not  sons  of  Fenrir's  race, 
The  huge,  the  fierce  of  fang  !     What  will  ye  here, 
Where  even  Gods  grow  dim,  and  scarce  behold 
Themselves,  or  hear  the  echo  of  their  speech  ? 
Methinks  I  slept,  but  for  how  long  a  time 
I  know  not :  dreams,  or  memories  of  a  home, 
Surround  me  still,  and  something  cold,  remote, 
Some  rude  resemblance  of  the  world  I  swayed, 
Revives  my  waning  power.     Once  more  I  speak, 
And  marvel  at  the  accents,  sealed  so  long. 
But  who  art  thou,  the  dark  of  aspect,  here 
Confronting  me,  no  less  a  shade,  but  more, 
Though  lost  capacity  for  wrath  would  fain 
Assert  itself,  and  shape  thine  ancient  threat  ? 
I  fear  thee  not. 

PERUN. 

Yet  was  I  feared  erewhile. 
ii 


THE    MASQUE    OF   THE    GODS. 

Older  than  thou,  and  mightier,  I  but  gave 

My  footstool,  not  my  throne,  when  came  thy  reign. 

I  held  my  sceptre  still ;  and  on  black  stones, 

The  natural  altars  tumbled  from  the  cliffs, 

Frost-carved  and  thunder-polished,  took  the  blood 

Of  secret  worship,  heard  the  fierce  appeals 

That  half  implored  my  favor,  half  defied. 

I  ruled  by  right  of  eldest  cruelty : 

The  savage  strength  of  man  renewed  my  life, 

And  still  renews,  though  all  my  frame  is  lean 

And  racked  with  hunger,  —  but  I  am  not  dead. 

BAAL. 

Nor  I,  whose  temples  mimicked  once  the  hills. 
For  those  strong  lusts  of  men  I  kept  alive, 
They  gave  me  splendor  and  a  mighty  name. 
None  older  is  than  I.     When  Man  came  forth, 
The  final  effort,  wrung  from  monstrous  forms, 

12 


THE   MASQUE    OF   THE   GODS. 

And  Earth's  outwearied  forces  could  no  more, 
I  warmed  the  ignorant  bantling  on  my  breast. 
We  rose  together,  and  my  kingdom  spread 
From  these  cold  hills  to  hamlets  in  the  palms, 
That  grew  to  Memphis  and  to  Babylon  ; 
While  I,  on  towers  and  hanging  terraces, 
In  shaft  and  obelisk,  beheld  my  sign 
Creative,  shape  of  first  imperious  law. 
Thou,  Odin,  lord  of  strength,  and  thou,  Perun, 
Of  fear  and  fierceness,  never  touched  the  springs 
Of  life,  your  faint  existence  there  to  feed. 
It  must  be  you  shall  pass  :  your  forms  are  thin 
As  incense-smoke  :  what  made  you  shall  unmake. 
But  I  beget,  not  slay,  —  grant  overplus, 
Where  you  are  niggard,  —  drink  from  hidden  founts, 
That  flow  through  channels  of  the  riotous  blood, 
And  keep  men  at  the  level  of  their  source. 
I  may  be  weakened,  but  I  cannot  die. 

13 


THE   MASQUE   OF  THE   GODS. 
MANITO. 

If  I  be  old,  I  know  not :  ye  are  strange, 

Yet  kindred,  —  long  conjectured,  here  beheld. 

I  have  some  fitful  power,  which  now  is  dread, 

Now  merciful,  and,  as  I  think,  is  good. 

The   smokes  I  breathed   are   shrunk   and   almost 

spent ; 

The  shouted  hymns  but  faintly  stir  mine  ears  ; 
The  blood  of  dog,  and  bear,  and  buffalo, 
Gives  me  but  scanty  life ;  and  through  the  lands 
I  governed,  seated  in  my  hunting-grounds 
Above  the  sky,  my  messenger  the  swan, 
My  slaves  the  beaver  and  the  crafty  fox, 
The  voices  which  address  me  slowly  fail. 
But  ye,  of  other  worlds,  declare  me  this, 
Am  I  myself,  or  am  I  made  of  them  ? 
If,  as  I  fear,  their  simple  souls  had  need 
Of  One  supreme,  and  therefore  I  became  ; 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 

Or  if,  alone  before  them,  I  have  drawn 
Through  ages  of  unchanged  companionship  — 
Since  lonely  Gods  must  stoop  to  play  with  men  — 
Their  color  to  my  face,  their  joys  to  mine, 
And  to  their  prayers  the  expected  answer  given, 
Declare  me  this  ! 

ODIN. 

Who  shall  declare  the  thing  ? 
Dost  thou,  the  lowest  of  us  all,  provoke 
The  chill  that  made  me  shudder  on  my  throne 
In  Asgaard,  when  the  gold-haired  Freya  wept, 
And  the  sweet  light  of  Balder's  eyes  grew  dim  ? 
Are  we,  then,  born  of  those  who  kneel  to  us  ? 
Shall  we  the  doubter  slay,  who  doubt  ourselves  ? 
Or  cease  to  be,  who  grant  the  sacred  gift 
Of  the  immortal  banquet  ?     I  am  faint 
With  more  than  craving  for  forgotten  rites, 


THE    MASQUE    OF   THE   GODS. 

And  even  might  perish,  did  not  something  burn 
In  mine  impoverished  being  from  above, 
As  if  Man's  shadow  met  a  light  in  me, 
Coming,  I  know  not  whence  :  but  it  is  good. 

BAAL. 

Dost  thou  confess  it,  Odin  ?     That  we  live, 

Outliving  name  and  prayer  and  sacrifice, 

Save  such  as  in  the  heart  and  limbs  of  Man 

Unconsciously  is  rendered,  tests  the  truth 

Of  ancient  godship,  yet  dependent  still 

On  something  strange,  and  mightier  than  ourselves. 

Were  we  but  servants,  then,  instead  of  lords  ? 

Did  blood  and  odor,  sound  of  harp  and  horn, 

And  choral  cries  from  multitudes  of  men, 

But  pass  our  palates  and  our  ears,  to  reach 

The  senses  of  some  sole  Divinity, 

Whom  we  thus  flattered  ?     When  I  looked  below 

16 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 

Upon  my  soaring  fane  in  Babylon, 

Who  was  't  looked  down  on  me  ?     Who  shook  my 

soul, 

But  not  with  fear,  or  hate,  or  jealousy,  — 
Since  each  were  vain, — but  something  fine  and  pure, 
That  made  me  stagger,  as  my  feet  were  clay  ? 

PERUN. 

Why,  then,  if  such  there  be,  I  know  Him  not. 

ODIN. 

Peace,  ignorant  savage  !     To  thy  Lord  and  mine 
Dream  no  rebellion  !     By  His  leave  we  are, 
No  less  than  Man's  necessity.     But  what 
He  is,  where  throned,  and  how  upheld  in  power, 
I  fain  would  know. 

A   VOICE   FROM   SPACE. 

Lo  !  I  am  that  I  am. 
17 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 

A  patise. 
THE    GODS. 

We  cannot  understand  Thee,  yet  we  bow, 

And,  without  knowledge,  own  Thee  :  are  we  Thine, 

Or  shall  we  cease  when  men  no  more  believe  ? 

A   VOICE   FROM    SPACE. 

Mine  are  ye :  also  Man's. 

THE    GODS. 

^  We  feel,  and  must 

Acknowledge  Thee.     Our  questioning  is  vain 
And  self-betraying,  since  to  question  is 
No  office  of  the  Gods.     We  yield  to  Thee, 
Who  knowest,  but  who  wilt  not  answer  us. 

MAN. 

We  burned  their  temples,  overturned  their  altars ; 
Through  force  or  love  we  learned  the  newer  worship, 

18 


THE    MASQUE    OF   THE   GODS. 

And  taught  our  children  other  than  our  fathers. 
We  gave  them  fear,  we  gave  them  war  and  slaughter, 
We  died  to  keep  them  in  their  sacred  houses, 
We  lived  to  crown  them  rulers  of  the  nations. 
But  they  forget,  they  perish  or  desert  us, 
Too  weak,  without  us,  to  become  immortal. 
They  change  like  us,  yet  claim  to  sit  above  us, 
Our  likenesses,  of  grander  limb  and  feature, 
Of  stronger  hate  and  lust,  and  gentler  pity. 
We  dream  of  higher,  yet  we  cannot  reach  them  ; 
We  grope  for  something  which  our  hands  can  cling  to, 

Our  eyes  behold,  our  minds  accept  and  fathom  ; 

I 
And,  groping,  seizing,  holding,  lo !   they  fail  us 

As  they  were  not  —  yet  must  we  fear  and  worship. 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 


SCENE    II. 


A  Doric  temple,  in  ruins,  on  a  headland  above  the  sEgean  Sea.     A 
"valley  and  mountains  in  the  background.     Early  dawn. 


THE   TREES. 

BARRENLY  murmur  through  manifold  branches, 
Answer  the  billows  that  tumble  ashore, 

Blossom  or  strip  in  the  march  of  the  seasons, 
We  are  but  sport  of  the  winds,  and  no  more  ! 

Shadow  we  give  them  where  once  we  were  holy, 
Lintel  and  beam  for  the  being  they  stole  ; 

Service  for  sacrifice,  litter  for  garlands, 
Use  for  the  Beauty  they  granted  a  soul. 

Desolate,  cold,  is  the  shell  of  the  Dryad  ; 
Still  are  the  dances,  the  oracles  dumb  : 

520 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE    GODS. 

Playmates  of  old,  we  are  slighted  as  strangers, 
Shorn  of  our  honor  in  ages  to  come ! 

THE    RIVERS. 

We  are  loud  and  silent,  we  hasten  and  dally, 

We  bless  and  waste,  as  in  days  that  are  dead  ; 
We  dance  on  the  hillside  and  sleep  in  the  valley, 

With  the  rocks  as  a  cradle,  the  reeds  as  a  bed  ; 
But  the   nymphs  of  our  fountains  leave  them  un- 
tended, 

And  the  god  of  the  stream  is  gone  from  his  urn : 
The  term  of  our  human  beauty  is  ended, 

And  its  liquid  graces  shall  never  return. 

We  bless  and  waste,  we  speed  in  our  courses, 
We  urge  and  pilot,  we  cheer  and  call ; 

We  wander  and  widen,  with  fetterless  forces, 
Servants  and  lovers  and  lords  of  all ! 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 

The  pulses  of  Life,  in  our  veins  unbroken, 
The  movement  of  Life,  in  the  tides  we  pour, 

Still  bind  us  to  men,  with  a  secret  token, 
And  keep  us  kindred,  though  none  adore ! 

THE    MOUNTAINS. 

Howe'er  the  wheels  of  Time  go  round, 

We  cannot  wholly  be  discrowned. 

We  bind,  in  form,  and  hue,  and  height, 

The  Finite  to  the  Infinite, 

And,  lifted  on  our  shoulders  bare, 

The  races  breathe  an  ampler  air. 

The  arms  that  clasped,  the  lips  that  kissed, 

Have  vanished  from  the  morning  mist ; 

The  dainty  shapes  that  flashed  and  passed 

In  spray  the  plunging  torrent  cast, 

Or  danced  through  woven  gleam  and  shade, 

22 


THE   MASQUE    OF   THE    GODS. 

The  vapors  and  the  sunbeams  braid, 
Grow  thin  and  pale  :  each  holy  haunt 
Of  Gods  or  spirits  ministrant 
Hath  something  lost  of  ancient  awe  ; 
Yet  from  the  stooping  heavens  we  draw 
A  beauty,  mystery,  and  might, 
Time  cannot  change  nor  worship  slight. 
The  gold  of  dawn  and  sunset  sheds 
Unearthly  glory  on  our  heads  ; 
The  secret  of  the  skies  we  keep ; 
And  whispers,  round  each  lonely  steep, 
Allure  and  promise,  yet  withhold, 
What  bard  and  prophet  never  told. 
While  Man's  slow  ages  come  and  go, 
Our  dateless  chronicles  of  snow 
Their  changeless  old  inscription  show, 
And  men  therein  forever  see 
The  unread  speech  of  Deity. 
23 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 

THE    SEA. 

What  were  the  bloodless  nymphs,  the  Triton  swarms, 

The  car  of  Cypris,  Galatea's  shell, 
The  green-haired  Gods,  the  cold,  ambiguous  forms 

That  in  me  dwelt,  or  only  seemed  to  dwell  ? 

What  did  I  care  for  Glaucus  by  the  shore, 
Or  Proteus  hiding  in  the  hollow  cave  ? 

That  yon  blue  billow  old  Poseidon  bore, 
Or  Aphrodite  warmed  this  amber  wave  ? 

Those  freaks  of  fancy  were  as  dying  spray, 
The  foamy  fringes  of  the  strength  I  hurled, 

Whose  bosom  heaves  to  one  unsetting  Day, 
The  azure  guard  and  girdle  of  the  world. 

If  Man  gives  being,  he  gave  naught  to  me, 

And  of  mine  empire  naught  has  overthrown  : 
24 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 

I  am,  I  was,  and  I  shall  ever  be 

Apart  in  power,  inviolate,  unknown. 

Before  my  myriad  voices  he  is  dumb, 

Yet  probes  their  meaning  in  eternal  pain : 

I  call  him,  and  he  cannot  fail  to  come, 
I  cast  him  forth,  and  he  returns  again. 

So  many  Gods  have  I  exalted  hailed, 

So  many,  spurned,  have  rotted  in  my  breast ; 

Yet  mine  the  balanced  powers  wherein  they  failed,  - 
The  face  of  action  and  the  heart  of  rest ! 

JOVE. 

I  hear  thine  ancient  murmur,  and  the  slow 
Reverberation  from  thy  thousand  shores. 
Who  knows  thee,  cannot  die :  for  those,  thy  Gods, 
My  brood  that  peopled  thee,  but  strayed  in  joy 

25 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 

Of  half-existence  o'er  thy  restless  fields. 

What  though  Olympus  props  dismantled  halls, 

The  dust  of  ages  on  their  golden  chairs, 

And  Ganymede  is  but  a  heap  of  bones 

Beside  the  shrivelled  eagle,  —  still  I  live, 

Much  as  I  was  before  my  children  made 

Their  easy  ladders  for  the  climbing  souls 

Of  men,  who  dreamed  while  dreaming  that  they 

knew. 

All  chains  of  life  they  grasped  led  back  to  me  ; 
All  aspirations  pointed  on  to  me, 
And,  like  thyself,  I  bounded  then  the  world. 
If  now  the  chains  be  broken,  otherwhere 
The  eyes  be  turned,  and  features  not  mine  own 
Shine  from  that  void  beyond  both  men  and  Gods, 
Shall  I  then  cease  ?     Not  so  :  the  later  reign 
Is  built  on  mine,  of  mine  the  later  laws 

Are  born,  and  he  who  rules  resembles  me. 

26 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 

ELOHIM. 

Thou  liest  to  thyself,  as  thou  crewhile 
Didst  lie  to  men.     We  saw  thy  hollow  state, 
And  we  allowed,  foreknowing  its  decay. 
Stretch  not  this  tolerance,  which  lets  thee  still 
Dream  olden  dreams,  see  olden  visions,  claim  — 
Since  broken  is  thy  painted  thunderbolt  — 
The  lightnings  of  the  Law !     We  led  the  tribes, 
By  changing  pillars  of  the  cloud  and  fire, 
From  On  to  Pisgah  :  we  upheld  their  hands  : 
We  planted  them  among  the  pleasant  vales, 
And  they,  our  children,  knew  the  Lord  their  God, 
They  cried,  and  we  did  hear  :  they  went  astray, 
And  then  we  smote  them :  as  they  honored  us, 
We  gave  them  honor,  and  as  they  obeyed 
We  blessed  them  ;  till  the  chosen  seed  became 
Exalted  o'er  the  kingdoms  of  the  world. 

Thy  bestial  co-mates,  Baal  and  Peor 

27 


THE    MASQUE    OF   THE    GODS. 

And  Ashtaroth,  have  died  disgraceful  deaths  : 
Why  livest  thou  ? 

JOVE. 

Thou  wert  a  jealous  God, 

And  wouldst  none  others  have  beside  thee.     Yet 
They  were,  and  led  thy  chosen  seed  astray. 
If,  knowing  thee,  men  justice  learned,  and  truth, 
And  worship,  which  is  highest,  I  bestowed 
Joy,  beauty,  grace,  and  with  permitted  toys 
Coaxed  my  fair  children  to  a  fairer  state. 
I  grudged  thee  not  thy  shrines  and  oracles, 
Prophet,  and  judge,  and  psalmist,  having  mine. 
I  saw  thy  ways,  and  read  what  even  thou 
Not  yet  acknowledgest,  but  which  draws  nigh 

To  shake  our  thrones :  for  as  we  are,  we  are : 
t 

We  cannot  rise  when  clearer  eyes  of  men 
Attain  our  height,  and  strive  to  pierce  beyond 

Their  own  colossal  shadows.     Mark  where  ours 

28 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 

Fall  side  by  side  upon  the  race  below, 

Featured  alike  in  power  and  majesty, 

Yet  fading  in  a  sweet  and  solemn  light 

That  dawns  above  them  !     Be  not  wroth  with  me 

I  kept  thy  secret  as  thou  keptest  mine. 

ELOHIM. 

Yea,  thou  hast  worked  for  us  :  what  we  foreknew 
Was  thy  foreboding.     If,  like  cloud  on  cloud, 
Something  of  us  is  dimly  thrown  on  thee, 
We  are  the  sun  whereby  our  shadow  falls. 
If  thou  wouldst  live,  teach  men  the  way  to  us 
Through  justice,  fear,  and  through  avenging  law  ; 
And  leave  thy  lusts  and  base  necessities 
To  those  below  the  thunder ! 

JOVE. 

See,  where  come 

The  orbs  of  Light  and  Darkness  from  the  East, 

29 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 

Across  thy  heavens,  as  't  were  the  cloud  of  stars 
Beside  the  lone  black  blot  of  starless  space, 
In  that  far  universe  I  know  not  of. 
They,  too,  are  Gods,  and  claim  their  equal  seats. 

ORMUZD. 

v 

Be  mighty,  ye,  for  them  who  look  to  Power  ; 

Be  stern  and  just  for  them  who  bow  to  Law ; 

Be  jealous,  kind,  or  cruel,  as  your  tribes 

Demand  such  discipline  !     I  am  but  one, 

One  spirit,  effluence,  operation,  force, 

One  sweet  and  sovereign  heart,  whose  beats  began 

With  first  of  things,  and  shall  be  felt  in  all 

Forever  !     Void  of  veil  or  mystery 

My  being  men  behold,  and  with  weak  arms 

Draw  down  to  wed  their  own,  and  give  them  peace. 

The  lowest  feels  me,  and  the  highest  fails 

To  grasp  my  sole  omnipotence  of  Good. 


THE    MASQUE    OF   THE   GODS. 
AHRIMAN. 

Make  room  for  me,  twin  of  thine  eldest  birth  f 
If  each  bright  sun  in  all  the  studded  sky 
Be  throne,  at  once,  and  fountain  of  thy  rays, 
Yet  in  the  unmeasured  gulfs  dividing  them 
I  dwell,  and  ever  compass  thee  around, 
One  spirit,  effluence,  operation,  force, 
One  dark,  relentless  heart,  whose  beats  began 
With  first  of  things,  and  shall  be  felt  in  all 
Forever  !     Men  may  fear  me,  but  they  love  : 
They  seek  the  darkness  rather  than  the  light ; 
And  all  thine  atoms,  or  in  them  or  space, 
Are  swallowed  up  in  mine.     Thus  am  I  throned 
In  sole  omnipotence  of  Evil. 

JOVE. 

Hark ! 

I  hear  a  noise  of  mighty  multitudes, 

31 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 

Confused,  and  crying  from  the  fields  of  Earth, 
And  in  their  cries  I  hear  your  names  and  mine. 

MAN. 

We  found  the  Gods  above  our  ancient  idols, 
And  worshipped  them  with  voice  and  deed  and  duty. 
Each  was  unquestioned,  each  august  and  awful, 
And,  knowing  him,  we  rested  in  the  knowledge. 
We  grew  in  power,  we  builded  towns  and  temples ; 
We  wrought  the  wider  fabric  of  the  nations, 
We  made  the  forces  which  we  feared  obey  us. 
Lo  !  now,  their  spirits,  as  our  own  in  battle, 
Stand  face  to  face :  their  dark  or  shining  legions 
Meet  in  our  souls,  and  tear  us  and  bewilder. 
We  yield  to  Law,  we  seek  eternal  Justice, 
We  love  the  Good,  yet  we  accept  the  Evil, 
We  love  our  lives,  we  cling  to  joy  and  beauty, 

We  render  penitence,  we  pray  for  pardon, 

32 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 

We  look  past  death  to  some  serene  Hereafter. 
Which  of  these  things  of  ours  shall  we  surrender  ? 
They  were  bestowed  :  how  can  they  be  divided  ? 
Shall  we  be  umpires  in  the  high,  supernal 
Debate  of  Gods,  or  is  there  One  beyond  them 
Whom  we  have  heard,  through  them,  in  changing 

voices  ? 

Then  come  Thou  near,  enlighten  and  console  us  ! 
Take  our  own  shape,  be  guide  and  God,  yet  brother! 

APOLLO. 

I  come,  your  shepherd  of  the  sunny  hills 
In  Thessaly,  who  from  the  reedy  pipe 
Allured  the  hidden  sweetness  of  your  breath, 
And  made  a  music  of  your  empty  lives. 
I  taught  ye  beauty,  harmony,  and  grace  ; 
I  lifted  and  ennobled  ye  ;  I  clothed 
Your  limbs  with  glory  and  your  brows  with  song. 

33 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 

Nature,  the  hard,  unfriendly  mother,  gave 
Her  sweetest  milk  to  nourish  ye  anew, 
And  all  her  forms,  as  lovers  or  as  friends, 
Moved  in  your  life,  and  led  your  shining  march 
Of  ages,  as  a  triumph  !     Still  I  walk, 
Though  unacknowledged,  filling  hungry  ears 
With  purer  sound,  and  brightening  weary  eyes 
With  visions  of  the  beauty  that  may  be. 
For  Beauty  is  the  order  of  the  Gods, 
The  ether  breathed  alone  by  souls  uplift 
In  aspiration,  and  the  crown  of  all, 
Save  whom  dumb  darkness  and  the  bestial  life 
Tread  out  of  being.     Reaching  her,  ye  live. 

IMMANUEL. 

She  is  not  Love.     I  know  thy  proud,  pure  face, 
And  was  content  to  see  thy  form  as  mine, 
In  temples  where  the  Truth  was  sought  through  me. 

34 


THE    MASQUE    OF   THE    GODS. 

In  love,  in  meekness  and  in  lowliness, 

I  did  my  Father's  will :  come  unto  me, 

Ye  heavy-laden,  weary  sons  of  earth, 

And  I  will  give  you  rest.     I  do  but  speak 

The  things  He  bids  me,  of  myself  am  naught. 

Love  one  another  :  inasmuch  as  ye 

Shall  do  it  to  the  least  of  these,  my  brothers, 

Ye  do  it  unto  me.     Behold,  I  came 

To  bring  ye  peace,  yet  also  bring  a  sword ; 

For  love,  and  diligence  in  doing  good, 

Mercy  divine  and  holy  charity, 

Stir  up  the  evil  that  among  you  dwells  ; 

But  through  the  strife  His  Kingdom  shall  be  based, 

Who  is  alone  from  everlasting  on 

To  everlasting  :  and  His  rule  is  love. 

MAN. 

One's  face  is  fairer  than  the  star  of  morning ; 

35 


THE    MASQUE    OF   THE    GODS. 

One's  voice  is  sweeter  than  the  dew  of  Hermon 
To  flowers  that  wither :  who  is  there  beside  them  ? 
And  is  there  need  of  any  one  above  him 
Who  brings  his  gifts  of  good  and  love  and  mercy  ? 
We  climb  to  nobler  knowledge,  finer  senses, 
And  every  triumph  brings  diviner  promise, 
But  Life  is  more  :  our  souls  for  other  waters 
Were  sore  athirst,  till  He  unlocked  the  fountain. 
Now  let  us  drink  ;  for  as  a  hart  that  panteth, 
Escaped  from  spears  across  the  burning  desert, 
We  think  to  drain  the  brook,  yet  still  it  floweth. 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 


SCENE   III. 

A  vast  landscape.     Sunrise. 
CHORUS    OF    SPIRITS. 

IN  the  ether  of  stars,  in  the  bath  of  the  planets, 
In  the  darkest  deeps  of  the  severing  spaces, 
The  force  of  the  Spirit  is  working  on  : 
And  men  have  guessed  it,  have  felt  its  glory, 
Have  babbled  its  speech,  and  fathomed  its  secrets 
In  earth  and  ocean  and  wind  and  flame. 

They   have   conquered   the   phantoms    themselves 

created ; 

They  have  torn  the  masks  from  the  gods  aforetime, 
To  find  the  mock  of  the  face  of  Man. 
They  sprinkle  themselves  with  blood  of  atonement, 

37 


THE    MASQUE    OF   THE   GODS. 

Persuade  their  souls  to  believe  and  be  quiet, 
Yet  restlessly  reach  for  the  Wisdom  beyond. 

The  years  are  as  breath,  and  as  sands  the  ages  ; 
'Mid  a  myriad  suns  the  world  is  a  darkness ; 
The  Deities  die  when  their  work  is  done. 
But  the  mantle  of  One  is  wide  to  enfold  us, 
The  heart  of  One  is  a  Father's  to  love  us, 
The  spirit  of  One  shall  lift  us  and  hold ! 

ODIN,    BAAL,    PERUN,    AND    MANITO. 

We  are  but  shadows  now,  we  know  full  well, 
Yet  life  is  sweet,  even  that  which  shadows  lead 
In  mist,  and  storm,  and  twilights  of  the  world. 
We  have  acknowledged  Thee,  the  High,  Unknown, 
Who  sitt'st  above  our  passions :  we  depend 
On  Thee,  it  seems,  and  would  behold  Thy  face, 
If  haply  blood  of  Thine  make  grand  our  limbs, 

38 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 

As  ours  the  strong,  heroic  shapes  of  men. 
We  give  the  strength  which  meets  and  overcomes ; 
The  amorous  ardor  which  renews  the  world  ; 
The  fierceness  which  is  needful  as  the  love, 
And  those  indulgences  to  come,  which  lure 
Where  judgment  threatens  :  shall  we  live  or  die  ? 

A   VOICE    FROM   SPACE. 

I  have  allowed  ye. 

4 

BRAHMA. 

On  my  moveless  throne 
I  hear,  and,  that  I  speak,  suspend  the  work 
Of  effortless  creation.     If  Thou  be 
The  primal  One,  whose  being  only  is 
Forever  everywhere,  I  work  for  Thee, 
Thine  eldest  force,  who  fashioned  Indra's  peak, 
And  from  my  hand  the  holy  Ganges  stream 

39 


THE    MASQUE    OF   THE    GODS. 

Poured  as  a  long  libation,  —  bade  the  gods 
Be  hatched  in  beasts  and  from  the  lotus-flower, 
And  with  the  infant  races  sport,  until 
These  prayed  to  find  me,  and  I  was  revealed. 
I  saw  my  symbols  stolen,  saw  my  laws 
Transferred  to  other  faiths,  myself  unknown 
By  those  who  yet  obeyed  me  and  adored : 
But  I  am  calm :  no  seed  of  meanest  life 
Hath  missed  its  place  in  falling  from  my  hand, 
Nor  any  mesh  in  all  my  boundless  net 
Of  woven  law  hath  felt  unequal  strain. 

A    VOICE    FROM    SPACE. 

Thou  doest  the  work  I  set,  yet  nam'st  thyself : 
I  have  no  name. 

ORMUZD. 
Thou  hast !  —  thy  name  is  Good. 

I  surely  know  Thee,  since  I  sprang  from  Thee. 

40 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 

For  Good  is  wisdom,  Good  is  beauty,  Good 
Is  even  the  root  below  the  flower  of  Love. 
I  am  not  idle,  though  my  nature  sole 
Exists  therein,  but  like  the  active  sun^ 
My  sacred  orb,  with  silent  energy 
Pervade  the  universe. 

A   VOICE    FROM    SPACE. 

Good  came  from  me. 

AHRIMAN. 

Whence,  then,  came  I  ?  Born  of  the  selfsame  womb, 

If  born,  or  separated  even  with  him, 

From  earliest  stuff  of  Gods  !     I  work  as  well 

In  mine  own  way :  I  am  the  thing  I  seem, 

And  could  not  be,  except  in  strife  with  him. 

He  may  revile  me,  but  I  owe  him  much  : 

His  children  serve  me  in  their  ignorance, 

And  round  his  brightest  altars  curls  the  smoke 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 

I  breathe  below  them.     If  he  came  from  Thee, 
I  came  beside  him  and  with  him  return. 

A    VOICE   FROM   SPACE. 

And  Evil  I  permitted. 

JOVE. 

In  my  youth 

I  called  Thee  Fate,  and  trembled  at  Thy  name. 
I  felt  Thou  wast,  but  knew  not  what  Thou  wast. 
Thou  gav'st  me  fair  dominions,  happy  realms, 
Hills  that  inspired,  and  wandering  seas  that  sang, 
And  noble  forms  of  men  that  worshipped  me. 
I  taught  them  Order,  Art,  Humanity, 
And  left  them  —  when  the  time  foretold  had  found 
All  these  in  ruin  —  nearer  to  Thy  feet. 
I  bate  no  privilege  of  ancient  pride  ; 
If  Thou  art  what  I  dream,  it  came  from  Thee ; 

And  if  I  launched  the  thunder,  loosed  the  leash 

42 


THE    MASQUE    OF   THE    GODS. 

Of  War  and  Pestilence,  it  was  Thy  will. 

I  do  not  crouch,  for  Thou  hast  made  me  strong. 

A   VOICE   FROM   SPACE. 

Thou  wast  my  servant. 

ELOHIM. 

Art  thou  not  ourselves  ? 

We  spread  with  Thee  the  waters  of  the  deep, 
We  hung  with  Thee  the  curtains  of  the  heavens, 
And  choired  the  morning  stars  ;  we  gave  Thy  law 
In  thunder,  and  Thy  mercy  as  the  dew  ; 
We  banished  other  Gods  from  out  Thy  house, 
And  smote  the  heathen :  we  translated  Thee 
In  human  speech  to  men,  and  sealed  with  them 
Thy  Covenant ;  o'er  Thy  chosen  seed  we  watched 
In  war,  and  exile,  and  captivity, 
And  the  strange  lusts  that  visited  their  kings. 

43 


THE    MASQUE    OF   THE    GODS. 

We  mean  to  rule  forever,  and  we  claim 

Obedience  of  men  and  rival  Gods. 

If  what  we  hear  be  but  our  echoed  voice, 

Then  we  have  spoken.     Who  besides  should  speak 

From  the  unfathomed  silence  of  the  stars  ? 

We  walk  the  world  and  hear  our  names  implored, 

Behold  our  power  increase,  our  kingdom  come. 

A   VOICE   FROM   SPACE. 

Ye  I  commissioned. 

APOLLO. 

I  but  claimed  a  place 

Among  the  serving  Gods,  yet  lords  of  men. 
Not  mine  to  call  existence  from  the  void, 
Or  give  reward,  save  what  in  Beauty's  self 
Is  given  forever  :  mine  the  simpler  task 
To  build  one  bridge  that  reaches  to  the  sky, 
To  teach  one  truth  that  brings  eternal  joy, 

44 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 

And  from  the  imperfect  world  the  promise  wrest 
Of  one  perfection.     If  than  this  Man  needs 
A  broader  hope,  a  loftier  longing,  yet 
This  must  he  have  ;  bereft  of  it,  he  dies. 
He  cannot  feed  on  cold  ascetic  dreams, 
And  mutilate  the  beauty  of  the  world 
For  something  far  and  shapeless  :  he  must  give 
His  eyes  the  form  of  what  in  him  aspires, 
His  ears  the  sound  of  that  diviner  speech 
He  pines  to  speak,  his  soul  the  proud  content 
Of  having  touched  the  skirts  of  perfect  things. 
This  much  in  him  I  foster,  marring  not 
Thy  high  design,  but  lending  it  a  grace 
Which  he,  insane  to  grasp  Thee,  might  forget. 
If  Thou,  as  needs  Thou  must,  be  harmony, 
The  soft  concordance  of  my  Delphic  lute 
Is  heard  between  Thy  thunders,  and  I  keep 
My  gentle  state  in  dear  humanity. 

45 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 
A    VOICE    FROM   SPACE. 

Live  !  Beauty  is  of  me. 

IMMANUEL. 

And  thou  art  chief 

A  God  of  Love !     Who  hath  seen  me  hath  seen 
The  Father.     I  was  sent  from  Thee  to  teach 
Thy  Truth  to  souls  anhungered  ;  if  I  left 
Untaught  the  things  of  less  account,  I  spake 
No  prohibition.     Men  have  used  my  name 
To  mortify  their  bodies,  maim  their  lives, 
And  plant  with  sorrow  where  I  came  to  sow 
The  seeds  of  joy,  as  in  that  pleasant  land, 
In  Cana's  mansion  and  the  home  of  Nain. 
I  know  that  I  am  Thine  :  my  heart  leaps  up 
To  hear  Thee,  and  I  lean,  as  doth  a  child, 
Upon  Thy  bosom.     I  have  done  Thy  will, 
My  Father,  who  hast  not  forsaken  me. 

Accept  my  work,  and  bless  me  :  Thou  art  Love  ! 

46 


THE   MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 
A   VOICE   FROM   SPACE. 

Yea,  most  am  Love  ! 

IMMANUEL. 

Then  am  I  near  to  Thee ! 

A    VOICE   FROM   SPACE. 

Thou  art  my  one  begotten  Son,  in  whom 
I  am  well  pleased. 

MAN. 

We  hearken  to  the  words 
We  cannot  understand.     If  we  look  up 
Beyond  the  shining  form  wherein  Thy  Love 
Made  holiest  revelation,  we  must  shade 
Our  eyes  beneath  the  broadening  wing  of  Doubt, 
To  save  us  from  Thy  splendor.     All  we  learn 
From  delving  in  the  marrow  of  the  Earth, 
From  scattering  thought  among  the  timeless  stars, 
From  slow-deciphered  hieroglyphs  of  power 

47 


THE    MASQUE   OF   THE   GODS. 

In  chemic  forces,  planetary  paths, 

Or  primal  cells  whence  all  Thy  worlds  are  born, 

But  lifts  Thee  higher,  seats  Thee  more  august, 

Till  Thou  art  grown  so  vast  and  wonderful, 

We  dare  not  name  Thee,  scarce  dare  pray  to  Thee. 

Yet  what  Thou  art  Thyself  hast  taught  us :  Thou 

Didst  plant  the  ladders  which  we  seek  to  climb, 

Didst  satisfy  the  heart,  yet  leave  the  brain 

To  work  its  own  new  miracles,  and  read 

Thy  thoughts,  and  stretch  its  agonizing  hands 

To  grasp  Thee.     Chide  us  not :  be  patient :  we 

Are  children  still,  we  were  mistaken  oft, 

Yet  we  believe  that  in  some  riper  time 

Thy  perfect  Truth  shall  come. 

A  VOICE   FROM   SPACE. 

Wait !     Ye  shall  know. 
FINIS. 


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